Vintage Mystery Bingo Challenge 2014 Wrap uo

Happy 2015! 

Here are the books read for the Vintage Mystery Bingo Challege. I Completed the Golden card and claim two bingos in the silver card. While i read so many I reviewed only one. Maybe 2015 will be a better year for blogging!  

Colour- The Black Mountain by Rex Stout

Anywhere except US or Uk-The Yellow turban by Charlotte Jay 

Crime other than murder- Dorothy Dixon solves the Conway case by Dorothy Wayne

Locked room- The moving toyshop by Edmund Crispin

Academic - Through the glass, darkly by Helen McCloy

entertainment- Vintage Murder by Ngaio Marsh 

More than one title- Death in Cyprus by M M Kaye 

Number- Death in five boxes by Carter Dickson

Free Space - The Case of the Deadly Toy by Erle Stanley Gardner 

New author- The blank wall by Elizabeth Sanxay Holding

Method of murder- The African poison murders by Elspeth Huxley

Women- Laura by Vera Caspary

Spooky - Beat not the bones by Charlotte Jay

Movie- The Lady Vanishes by Ethel Lina White

Amateur detective- Death in Zanzibar by M M Kaye 

Man- The Hollow man John Dickson Carr

Country house- No wind of blame by Georgette Heyer

Mode of transport- Strangers on a train by Patricia Highsmith

Author read before- The case of the Waylaid Wolf by Erle Stanley Gardner 

Courtroom-  The Case of black eyed blonde by Erle Stanley Gardner 

Fellow challenger- A shilling for candles by Josephine Tey

Professional- The Ivory grin by Ross Macdonald

Water- Singing in the shrouds by Ngaio Marsh 

Outside comfort- A Coffin of Dimitiros by Eric Ambler

Detective team- If death ever slept by Rex Stout

Time- The clock strikes twelve by Patricia Wentworth 

Short story Collection- The labour of Hercules by Agatha Christie

Translated- Maigret in Exile by Georges Simenon

England- The Beast must die by Nicholas Blake

Borrow- A kiss before dying by Ira Levin

Animal- The Chinese Parrot by Earl Derr Biggers

Place-  Death in the wrong room by Anthony Gilbert

Size- A dram of poison by Charlotte Armstrong 

Medical- Man Missing by Mignon G Eberhart

Pseudonym-The secret of the old clock by Carolyn Keene 

U.S- Beast in view by Margret Millar

Silver

Two Bingos 

Last Horizontal line and Four Corners Bingo

entertainment: Assignment in Andorra by May Mackintosh 

Women-The skull beneath her skin by P D James

Mode of transport-The Zebra-Striped Hearse by Ross Macdonald

Outside comfort- A Case of need by Jeffery Hudson

Borrow- Dekok and the Somber Nude by A C Baantjer

U.S- The James Joyce Murder by Amanda Cross

Colour- Encyclopaedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald J Sobol

Animal in the title - Crocodile on the sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

Crime other than murder- Encyclopaedia Brown finds the Clue by Donald J Sobol

Short storycoll-Encyclopaedia Brown and the case of the secret Pitch by Donald J Sobol

No wind of blame by Georgette Heyer

Considering that it is July, and I have plenty of reading challenges to finish. I had been looking for a book with all wierd combinations. Like 'wind' in the title, preferably written by a women writer, I am doing the women author reading challenge and I haven't even finished half the required number of books for it. Preferably a mystery or crime novel. And I found this book in openlibrary. I read three books by Heyer before : Venetia, Behold, here's poison and Why shoot the butler. I liked the humour and characters in her books. But I did think the 'wicked baron' act thing is becoming repetitive and was quite happy that this book didn't feature a wicked baron,  a man so immoral that we all love to hate and hate to love, or some such thing. 

We have the rich and Vulgar Ermyntrude, ex-actress who is married to the philandering Wally Carter, whose cousin Mary looks like the only sensible person in the household especially when compared to the over the top dramatic Vicky, Ermyntrude's daughter from her first marriage. And dethroned exiled Prince, with an unpronounceable name, of Georgia, their house guest, and Prince their dog, and Robert Steel a man who is silent and passionate about Aunt Ermy, as Mary calls her. Hugh Derring a possible suitor for Mary and finally the disreputable Whites. 

It had all the elements of a country house murder, the stage is set. Wally's philandering and Aunt Ermy's drama should lead to something, right? Into a quarter of the book I realised that nobody is dead yet. I had been expecting Aunt Ermy to die at any moment, she is the rich one, isn't it? But then a vague suspicion dawned on me, that this is probably not one of Heyer's mystery, that this is probably a romance. Heyer had written plenty of romance, and the first book I read by her Venetia is a romance, which I loved by the way, but I do hate romances. There are some benefits in reading an ebook in Ipad and one is being immediately able to google to find out about the book. Then with a sigh of relief I learnt that it is a mystery alright. And Wally is going to be murdered. But why Wally? Oh yes. He is causing lots of pain to Aunt Ermy with his philandering ways. And Aunt Ermy has lots of admirers and sympathisers, still why Wally? If somebody is going to be murdered it should be Aunt Ermy, after all she is the one with money. 

Then I plunged into the book again. Nobody has an alibi and almost everybody a motive. So who killed Wally and why? Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard makes an appearance to the end of the book when local inspector fails to make much headway into the investigation. Vicky pulls of a nice little stunt. Whatever would our lives be without creatures like Vicky. Did I guess who killed Wally? No! I more or less decided who the culprit was and the story was definitely pointing that way. But a nice little surprise that I should have seen it coming with all those clues around.  Interesting puzzle with colourful characters.

Fireside Mystery Book Edited by Frank Owen

 I borrowed this short story collection from Openlibrary. I am not really a fan of short stories mysteries or otherwise and the reason I picked up this book is that it works out for many Reading challenges I have yet to complete this year. There are twenty stories in this collection published in 1947. Most of the authors in this collection are new to me except for Cornell Woolrich, Sax Rohmer and Ellery Queen. This was quite a mixed bag to me, I loved some of them, some of them were okay and some didn't work at all. The one's didn't work at all, that hardly held me my interest were the straightforward crime stories. 

My favourite is Pale Pink Porcelain by the editor himself set in China about two suitors for the hand of a beauty who wants a pale pink paint for her porcelain. She promises to marry the man who can bring her the pale pink colour. This has a nice twist in the end. I also liked Figure a Dame by Richard Sale set in India, where a man acts as a guard to a famous emerald bought from a small town in India. This also has a surprise ending. 

Interesting collection of mystery stories something to read in the cold winter. 

Fever by Friedrich Glauser

It looks like a season of bizarre mysteries for me. From Private Investigators who go looking for the killer of Least Terns, to the Coroner with thirty three teeth who hosts a thousand old spirit. And one were more than half the characters are called Koller. A Koller, who is a philosophy student, who murdered his girl friend, another Koller, a priest who narrates a strange story to Sergeant Studer, a third Koller, a geologist prospecting in Algeria who died of Malaria, the fourth Koller, a stockbroker, who has probably defrauded and goes missing. And this is also a story of brothers and sisters and taking up new identity. A Koller who calls himself Cleman marries Sophie and before a year divorces her and marries her sister Josepha. While Sophie lives in luxury, Josepha is in poverty. Josepha has a daughter Marie who lives with another Koller. There are two murders with cards neatly laid out on the table.There is a temperature chart and a treasure hunt. Oh! I forgot the clairvoyant corporal who starts the whole thing and yes two blue raincoats. Now will there be some light at the end of this tunnel? 

If you caught the drift of what I am saying, while the story is bizarre, the narration is bizarre too. I really enjoyed the conversation Studer has with his wife, I mean, the monologue, and what happens when he delivers his monologue. I couldn't help wondering if half of this is Studer in delirium or me in delirium. Whatever it is, strange though it is, it sure is fun. 

Translated from German by Mike Mitchell published in German in 1937

The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes

“The Avenger was not a ghost; he was a living man with some kind of hiding-place where he was known, and where he spent his time between his awful crimes.”

“however nomad he may be in his habit; must have some habitat where his ways are known to at least one person. Now the person who knows the terrible secret is evidently withholding information in expectation of a reward, or maybe because, being an accessory after the fact, he or she is now afraid of the consequences. My suggestion, Sir, is that the Home Secretary promise a free pardon. The more so that only thus can this miscreant be brought to justice. Unless he was caught red-handed in the act, it will be exceedingly difficult to trace the crime committed to any individual, for English law looks very askance at circumstantial evidence.”

Jack the Ripper had killed at least five women in the East End. How did he escape notice? He has to live somewhere, and with all the blood on his hands and clothes somebody should have noticed something, also going out at strange hours in bad weather, should have made somebody suspect something. So why didn't the person who noticed come out with the truth? Is it greed for reward, money, or fear of being the accessary to murders, or fear of the Ripper himself? What is it that stopping these persons from talking up? Could it be something as inane as misplaced loyalty? Marie Belloc Lowndes has used this as the premise for her psychological suspense and changed the Ripper to Avenger. 

The Buntings are literally starving, and then they find a Lodger, who makes them possible to eat and live. The Lodger is eccentric, doesn't like anybody except Mrs Bunting to wait upon him,  Then there are murders in the East End. Could a Gentleman living in the West End be responsible for the horrible murders in the East End? The Lodger keeps strange hours, sneaks off into the small hours of the morning in fog. He reads and quotes from Bible, about women who should be punished. If you are starving to death, would you put the man who made it possible for you to eat again go to his death? What if he were murderer, somebody killing women every fortnight? But he looks so gentle, eccentric yes, bit touched upon the head perhaps, and he has taken harbour with you. Will you betray somebody who placed faith on you? I mean yes he is eccentric, but do you know for sure? If you did, what would you do? There are fears and suspicion and sometimes you just know even if you don't want to acknowledge to yourself. And Mrs. Bunting knows. There is the young policeman who is friendly to Bunting who drops in giving them latest developments in the murders. Then Mr.Bunting's daughter comes to stay with them creating a tense atmosphere. What is going to happen now? 

Mrs. Bunting is not one to betray. But she knows only the killer, the victims are just a name. If she knew the victim, realise that they are human beings too not just names, will her stand change? Interesting psychological suspense. 

The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham

I loved the lighter vein and Wodehousian characters of The Case of the Late Pig, the first Campion book that I read earlier this year. So picked up another Albert Campion book for some fun. The Tiger in the Smoke is a completely different book from The Case of the Late Pig, it is thriller rather than a whodunit and in a much sober vein. 

Meg's husband is presumed dead in the World War II. Now after five years she has found happiness again. She is all set to marry Geoffrey and photographs of her husband in recent setting appear. She asks Campion to look into matter. Is he alive? What happened to him? If he is alive why didn't he get in touch with her? Is something else happening here? Who is set to create havoc in her life? 

While this book features Campion, this is not his book. This book is Canon Avril's, Meg's father and Jack Havoc's. Jack Havoc is behind the plan, what he wants becomes evident soon. He is the Tiger on the prowl in the 'smoke' that is London. 

Havoc is evil and Avril is Good. Havoc stops at nothing to get what he wants. He kills innocent people without a thought. Avril goes to face the evil, will he stop the evil? Will good win over evil? This interaction between good and evil leads to a thrilling finish. Canon Avril's thoughts on why he could never be a Judge touches a chord with me. 

'I should never have made a judge. I've often thought that. What a very terrible job that must be. Consider it,' he added as Luke sat staring at him. 'However carefully a judge is protected by the experience and the logic of the law, there must be times-not many, I know, or we should have no judges-when the same frightful question must be answered. Not faced, you see, but answered. Every now and again he must have to say to himself, in effect, "Everyone agrees that this colour is black, and my reason tells me it is so, but on my soul, do I know?"

Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner

Young Emil travels to Berlin in a train for holidays. His mother saved up money for his grandmother and some for his stay. She gives him Seven Pounds, five for grandmother and two for his stay. If you wonder, what Seven Pounds could buy, this is in 1929 and seven pounds is a lot of money. Despite being asked to keep the money safe, Emil manages to get his money stolen. Imagine Emil in a big city with no money. Not to worry, Emil is intent on getting back his money from the person who stole it. So what is Emil going to do?

This is a fun little classic adventure book. Emil meets a group of boys in Berlin who decide to help him. They come up with a plan to get the money back. It is interesting that instead of bickering and fighting, the boys become organised and designate roles for everybody. While they are adventurous and optimistic they are also practical. They think about their immediate needs about food, money for travel, and need to be informed and create a point of contact. It is also clever how Emil proves that money is his finally. I loved the illustrations too. 

Translated from German by Eileen Hall and illustrated by Walter Trier

The Curse of the Bronze Lamp by Carter Dickson

Sometimes you find a magical lamp that when you rub it out comes a genie that would fulfil all your wishes and sometimes you find a cursed lamp that brings destruction to all those who own it. Lady Helen Loring of Severn Hall finds a Bronze Lamp during her excavations with her father in Cairo. This is not the Lamp that grants one's wishes but looks like one that could cause death and pain. First Professor Gilary dies of a Scorpion Sting, if such a thing is even possible Helen wonders. And then soothsayer Alim Bey forecasts that Helen would go poof into the air before she reaches her room in Severn Hall. When just such a thing happens, you wonder if the curse of the Lamp is not just a superstition.

There are two witnesses who notice Helen run into her home and within seconds they find her Mackintosh and the bronze Lamp in the middle of the hall. But where is Helen? With the house practically swarming with servants and the grounds being worked on by workers and all exits are clearly visible how could one leave the house without notice. But they search the house thoroughly and they couldn't find her in it. Not inside it, not outside it where did she go. Are they any secret rooms, secret passages, trap door and all? Or is this the curse of the Bronze Lamp? Sir Henry Merrivale is at hand to solve these mysterious circumstances.

I love these impossible scenarios and there is something exciting about somebody who practically disappears before one's eyes, add in a cursed Bronze Lamp, two men who love our Lady, two soothsayers and a Gothic house inspired by The Castle of Otranto, what else one wants? I had a vague idea about the first disappearance (yes there is more than one) and what surprises me again like in other Carter Dickson/John Dickson Carr's books I have read is that though the solution is just before my eyes I keep looking for something else elsewhere. This is the first book featuring Sir Henry Merrivale that I have read, I wouldn't say I got a clear picture of him, except that he loves scrapbooking, he is eccentric and funny. An exciting little puzzle!


Published in 1945 this book can be borrowed as an ebook from Open Library like I did.

The Problem of the Green Capsule by John Dickson Carr

What would you do to prove your pet theory? Would you be willing to die to prove it? When Marcus Chesney planned an elaborate set up to prove his pet theory, that eyewitnesses are not reliable, he did not plan to get himself killed, but his murderer used this ingenious plan to kill him. Marcus not only had three eyewitnesses for his murder, he also had it filmed. So catching his murderer would be no difficulty, or would it be? If the murderer is dressed as an 'invisible man', and none of the eye witnesses agree on as simple thing as the time that is clearly visible on the clock in the stage or the height of the killer, can the police catch the culprit. Police? Maybe not. Scotland Yard? Maybe. Dr. Gideon Fell? Definitely.

"No hermetically sealed rooms. No supernatural elements." Will Dr. Fell be interested in this case? When Scotland Yard detective Elliot is infatuated with one of the main suspects, he approaches Dr. Fell and he decides to help put away the poisoner.

In Sodbury Cross, a market-town near Bath, "is a criminal lunatic who enjoys poisoning people wholesale." Somebody introduced poisoned chocolates in Mrs.Terry's tobacco-and-sweet shop, poisoning three children and an eighteen year old, one of the children died and Marcus Chesney's niece Marjorie is suspected of the poisoning. Marcus wants to prove his pet theory that "All men are unobservant". And "Whenever he had a theory, he had to test it. And this is the result." He also wants to prove how the poisoned chocolates found its way into Mrs Terry's without anybody noticing it. He sets up a short play with a list of questions to be answered afterwards, only thing he hadn't planned, is that he wouldn't be there to enjoy his victory. Who killed Marcus and why? Are the cases relates? Is a maniac running loose? Gideon Fell solves this ingenious case.

I didn't guess the killer, though I should have. There were clues. And at one point I was foolishly thinking why in detective stories 'somebody' is not the killer. Foolish because 'somebody' is often the killer in Agatha Christie's books and I told myself this immediately after the thought occurred. Foolish again because while I linked the thought to Christie's books, how have I failed to link it to this story. And even when Elliot echoed my thoughts, I should have linked it, I failed it. No matter. It is the ingenuity of the plot, John Dickson Carr lead me where he wanted to lead me and very early on I had marked someone as the murderer and I wouldn't budge. Classic detective story, some great work for the grey cells.

This book was originally published in 1939 and also published under the alternative title The Black Spectacles.

Thanks to Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out for gifting me this book, I won a prize among those successfully completing Eclectic Reading Challenge 2012. This book is a treasure.

Double, Double by Ellery Queen

Double, Double by Ellery Queen, the pseudonym of novelists duo Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee, published in 1950 featuring novelist and detective Ellery Queen, was also published with the alternative title The Case of the Seven Murders.

Ellery Queen receives an anonymous letter with two newspaper clippings. The first one nearly two months old reports the death of Luke MacCaby, the Town Hermit, of heart failure. The next clipping reports that John Spencer Hart, President of Wrightsville Dye Works, committed suicide unable to face bankruptcy and prison. One is a heart failure, the other is suicide, neither seemed to be linked nor criminal. But somebody has linked it. These two clippings have been sent to Ellery Queen. How are these deaths related? Three days later Ellery Queen receives another envelope reporting the disappearance of Tom Anderson, the Town Drunk. How are these three incidents related? Rima Anderson, Tom Anderson's daughter approaches Ellery to find out about the disappearance of her father. What will Ellery uncover? When more deaths follow, and Ellery realises that somebody is killing off people in tune with a famous children's rhyme. There are various versions of the rhyme available, what version is the killer using? Will Ellery stop further deaths? Everything is not as appears, the town hermit whom everybody thought was penniless was a rich man, the President of Dye Works whom everybody thought was a rich man was in fact poor, who else is leading a double life?

I spotted the killer quite early, just a little thing threw me off, just as Ellery Queen novelists duo expected. But I was back again on the same track because there is really no where else to go. I like the chapter in the end where Ellery explains everything. I wish all crime novels had this kind of explanation. I know, in real life it is not possible to provide explanations for everything. That's why, I read fiction, I can work out most of the things, but give me the final chapter with all the explanations some I have worked out, making me feel clever and some I hadn't worked out, making me feel the writer is more clever, after all the book is world they created. Oh yes! This book made me feel clever, being able to see beyond the double smokescreen, but I hadn't worked out everything, making me respect and look for other work by Ellery Queen.

I borrowed an ebook from Openlibrary

Below Suspicion by John Dickson Carr

I read two books by John Dickson Carr last year, The Burning court and The Problem of the Wire Cage. I loved both of them. I borrowed Below Suspicion published in 1949 from the Openlibrary.

Patrick Butler, a barrister, is one hell of a defending lawyer nicknamed 'the Great Defender', he could always get his client free out of prison, even when he is sure that his client is guilty. Patrick is never wrong and he never loses his case. Joyce Ellis is accused of poisoning Mrs.Taylor. Joyce worked as a companion-nurse-secretary to Mrs.Taylor and pleads vehemently that she is innocent. Patrick feels otherwise.

When Mrs.Taylor's relative Richard Renshaw also dies by poisoning by the same substance, suspicion falls on his beautiful, blonde seductive wife Lucia. Should I say Patrick falls for Lucia and believes she is innocent? Can he prove that Lucia is innocent? Who killed Mrs.Taylor and why? Who killed Renshaw? Patrick Butler, brilliant though he is, now needs the help of Gideon Fell to solve this case.

Carr plays with our perception of innocence and guilt. Butler finds himself in a curious position after he falls for Lucia. He had saved the innocent looking according-to-him guilty Joyce and turned the suspicion on seductive Lucia, now his love. When Gideon Fell brings in the concept of serial poisoners and devil worship, I couldn't help wondering where it is going. Whatever the reason, there is a plausible explanation on who did it, how and why! I like the way the story moves from logical to fantastic and moves back again to logic.

If you wonder, what below suspicion is, Carr explains that in a murder investigation no one is above suspicion. But some are below suspicion, like the investigator, the butler, maid, and servants who have no motive. Did I figure who the murderer is? No! Carr has created a perfect smokescreen that it is not possible for me to see the truth until the revelation.

I couldn't just pass this snippet about the Labour Government and democracy without sharing it.

"The term she mentions, Doctor," he said richly, "were framed by our Labour Government to describe any man who works with his brain rather than his hands."

The star of the fanatic sprang into Miss. Cannon's eyes; as, on the other side of the fence, it was also in Butler's.

"The Government, young man," Miss. Cannon said pityingly, "do not exactly work with their hands."

"No, madam. Or with their brains. I should respect them more if they did either."
"You ought to be jailed for speaking against the Government!" cried Miss. Cannon. "We're living in a democracy!"

"Madam," said Bustle, closing his eyes, " your remark is such a perfect thing that its beauty must not be spoiled by comment. I accept the definition."

I and My True Love by Helen MacInnes

I picked this book for the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge, as it involves espionage. Only after reading it, I know it is more of a romance than anything else.

Sylvia Peydell encounters her one time love, Jan Brovic after six years. Sylvia has been married to Payton, a Washington diplomat, and after her brief fling with Jan she had decided to stay faithful to Payton. Now the appearance of Jan after all these years creates conflict in her. But as she learns truth about her husband, will she stay with him? Jan is on a mission from Czechoslovakia. This story takes place in 1950s in the early years of the Cold War. He wants Sylvia to trust him. He is pretending to be a communist only to find passage to U.S. and hopes to find asylum in U.S and win back Sylvia's love. Is Jan telling the truth? Or is he a communist just playing with Sylvia to find information? Somebody had leaked information to the Czechoslovakia, who leaked it and why?

The story is mostly told from the point of view of Kate, a cousin of Sylvia who moves to Washington from a ranch in San Francisco. It is interesting how Kate's view of Payton changes. There is some suspense, some mystery, but that's just it. It is really very hard for me to buy into a cold war story. The real question is rather moot for me. Does it really matter if Jan is a Communist? What if he is? Communists are not exactly Nazi's, are they? Well, I never lived in a communist regime, so what do I know? And also the information leaked is not really a question of national security, it is about a trade treaty to be planned with Czechoslovakia, so what if they knew before time. The story is okay as a romance, but I didn't like the ending either.

This book was first published in 1952 and I borrowed an ebook from Openlibrary.

Five Passengers from Lisbon by Mignon G Eberhart

In 2012, I read Escape the Night by Mignon G. Eberhart and enjoyed it very much. So I borrowed Five Passengers from Lisbon from the Open Library.

After the end of the World War II, wanting to leave behind the painful war years in Europe, five passengers get aboard a cargo ship from Lisbon travelling to Buenos Aires. On way, the ship faces a storm and the passengers find themselves clinging to a lifeboat, fighting the storm in the dark along with three seamen. With the break of the dawn they find a Red Cross ship and find refuge there. Aboard the hospital ship they find that one of the Seamen Alfred Castiogne was stabbed to death in the lifeboat. Who killed him and why? All the Five passengers claim that they were only slightly acquainted with Castiogne and have no reason to murder him, so the murderer should be one of the other seamen. But we do know, don't we it is one of the Five passengers from Lisbon. Who is it and why?

"What had they brought from the sinister, harried little lifeboat onto this ship?"

The five passengers are Marcia Colfax, her Fiancé Michel Banet, Daisy Belle Cates and her husband Luther Cates and Gili Duvrey. The story is from the view point of Marcia. On the hospital ship, Marcia find herself the target of repeated murder attempts. Who is trying to kill her and why? There is no reason for anybody to murder Marcia, she does not know anything incriminating about anyone nor is she a danger for anyone. After the first attempt on her life, Eberhart slowly builds up tension that you keep expecting more attempts on her life. As the body count increases and number of survivors from the lifeboat decreases, will the Captain of the Red Cross Ship find the murderer and bring back peace on his ship?

Imagine the plight of the Captain of the Red Cross Ship. He had given refuge to people floating on a lifeboat and brought murder into his orderly and life-saving ship.

Eberhart writing is so evocative that I can imagine the fog seeping into the ship making visibility zero percent and danger hundred percent. Do I have to say, that I love mysteries on a ship!

Published in 1946 Five Passengers from Lisbon is a short novel with some romance and lots of suspense that can be read in a couple of hours.

The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov

My Science Fiction reading has mostly comprised of Jules Verne, H G Wells and Isaac Asimov. I enjoyed reading the Foundation Series and I, Robot a long time back. When I knew that Asimov had written Science Fiction Mysteries I just had to read it.

A millennium from now human beings have colonised 50 other planets. Earthmen live in Cities constructed in steel. They no longer live in open air but in caves of steel. Lije Baley, the protagonist of the story, has 'rarely seen rain, or any other phenomena of nature' in his forty-two years of life.

While on other planets human beings co-exists with Robots, on earth they dislike robots because Robots have taken over jobs from them. Human Beings from other planets, Spacers, live on earth in a special Spacetown with restricted access to earthmen.

When a prominent spacer scientist is killed in Spacetown, Julius Enderby, Commissioner of Police, City of New York approaches Lije Baley to investigate the case along with Spacer Robot Daneel Olivaw. Enderby instructs him

"If he (robot) breaks the case, if he can report that we are incompetent, we are ruined, anyway. We, as a department. You see that, don't you? So you've got a delicate job on hand. You've got to work with him, but see to it that you solve the case and not he."

Lije like majority of human beings on earth dislikes Robots. Robot Daneel is a special robot trained for investigations and looks like normal human being. Lije has not only solve the case, but has to overcome his distrust for robots and also prove he is more efficient than a Robot. How would Lije prove that he is better than a mind reading Robot is a challenge. Who killed the scientist and why? Will Lije prove that he is more efficient than a Robot?

I love this Science Fiction mystery which does not compromise on both angels. It is great science fiction and a great mystery. It works like a classic mystery suspicion moving from one key character to another with plenty of clues and some red herrings with a final satisfying result. Published in 1953 The Caves of Steel is a treat for both mystery lovers and Science Fiction lovers.

The Case of the Late Pig by Margery Allingham

Albert Campion narrates this story. I liked the interactions between Campion and Lugg, his butler, reminded me of Wooster and Jeeves. The story starts with the announcement of R I Peters funeral in the 'Deaths' column in the newspaper and an anonymous letter addressed to Campion about Peters' death. 'Pig' Peters was a school bully whose funeral Campion promised to attend after an unpleasant bullying incident in school.

Few months later, Campion starts a murder investigation. Who do you think is dead, this time? It's our late Pig Peters again. So what is happening here? Who killed Peters? Who is sending the anonymous letters to Campion? If Peters was dead this time, who died before? Whose funeral did Campion attend?

I worked out the mystery before the end. There were a few surprises though. Didn't realize that Lugg would play such a huge role in the mystery. About the methods for investigation Campion points out that,

I am not one of these intellectual sleuths, I am afraid. My mind does not work like an adding machine, taking the facts in neatly one by one and doing the work as it goes along. I am more like the bloke with the sack and spiked stick. I collect all the odds and ends I can see and turn out the bag at lunch hour.

Published in 1937, The Case of the Late Pig is a very short novel, enough to whet my interest into reading more Campion mysteries.

The Middle Temple Murder by J S Fletcher

Spargo, sub-editor of Watchman, returning home after the papers have gone to the press at 2 in the early morning, spots news near Middle Temple lane when he finds policemen there. A porter had reported that he found a man lying dead in one of the entrances to the lane. There was nothing on the man that could lead to his identification.

They find a scrap of paper with a barrister's address on it. But the barrister is not aware of any such man. So who was he? Why was he murdered? Who murdered him? Spargo plays an active role in the investigation. He uses his influence of as a journalists to get the case solved.

With the help of the cap, the dead man was wearing, they trace him. It is a complicated and confusing case involving embezzlement, impersonation, hidden identities, invaluable stamps, hidden leather box and a twenty-one year old case.

I didn't guess the killer or the reason. There were many twists that I hadn't anticipated. Interesting mystery that got me glued from start to finish. I liked this book much much better than The Charing Cross Mystery by J S Fletcher. The Middle Temple Murder published in 1919 is available as a free ebook from many websites including Gutenberg and Amazon.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

This is the third time I read The Moonstone. The first time I was in school and this was one of the first ever mysteries I read and, second time at least a decade later. The second time I didn't remember who did it. But now I do remember who did it? So will I enjoy as much as I enjoyed it this the first two times?

The story starts with a letter on how the Moonstone got into the hands of Herncastle in the battle in Seringapatnam (Srirangapatnam) in India where a dying Indian proclaims

“The Moonstone will have its vengeance yet on you and yours!"

and the letter writer believes that

“It is my conviction, or my delusion, no matter which, that crime brings its own fatality with it.”

The infamous Moonstone is left as a birthday present for Miss.Rachel Verinder by her uncle Herncastle. Three Indians have traced the Moonstone to Verinder's House in Yorkshire. Miss Verinder wears the Moonstone proudly on her birthday in a large party. The next morning the Moonstone is missing. Who took the moonstone? The Indians seems to have not been involved in he theft. It looks like an inside job. So who among the residents both guests, and servants have taken the Moonstone. The suspicion moves from one to another before finally solved.

The story is made up of different narratives by people who were important eyewitness to the events, yet not the parties directly involved. Gabriel Betteredge, Verinder's house-steward, narrates the first part. Betteredge is obsessed with Robinson Crusoe and believes that it contains answers to all human problems. Betteredge's narrative has many false starts before it gets into the stride. This is an interesting approach on how to start a story and how somebody who is not a professional may write a story. There is humour throughout the story. Sergeant Cuff, the detective from Scotland Yard, with his passion for roses, investigates the case and makes predictions that come true.

As I started reading it, I realised that I don't remember much about the story, which is a good thing because lots of things did catch me by surprise. It's an enjoyable reread. A classic mystery worth revisiting. No wonder great writers have celebrated this book as the best detective story in the world. The Moonstone published in 1868, is available in the public domain and can be downloaded from many websites including Gutenberg, Amazon and Ibooks.

The Charing Cross Mystery by J S Fletcher

Traveling home in the last east-bound train in London, Heatherwick couldn't help noticing the two men who boarded the almost empty train in St. James Square. They talk about recognising a woman even after such a long time, and suddenly one of them drops dead. The other gets down in Charing Cross station promising to bring a doctor. As we all know, he has disappeared. The dead man was poisoned. Who is the man who ran away in Charing Cross? Who is the lady he was talking about? Is it related to this death? What are the blue stains in the murdered man's hands? Heatherwick, a young barrister, has all the time in the world to investigate. More so because Robert Hannaford, the dead man, has a beautiful daughter.

Heatherwick believes that the lady Hannaford was talking about, is the key to the mystery. With the help of the newspaper cutting in Hannaford's belongings, Heatherwick tries to trace the lady. He also finds out that Hannaford was an amateur scientist and he was on to inventing something that would make hime rich. What happened to the man who ran away at Charing cross station? Was he responsible for Hannaford's death? Heatherwick gets into finding these with some help from the police inspector Matherfield.

It is a complicated, confusing and intriguing story that involves scientific inventions, blackmail, stolen diamond necklace, impersonation, mistaken-identities, kidnapping and of course murders. At the midway point, I lost interest because of something that happened. Most of the mysteries is solved at the midway point. What happens later is the climax stuff we see in movies- kidnapping, rescue and final apprehension.

The Charing Cross Mystery published in 1923 is available as a free ebook from Manybooks website.

The Silent House in Pimlico by Fergus Hume

In London, No:13 Geneva Square, Pimlico, is reputed to be haunted and left untenanted for a long while with frequent sightings of a light flitting from window to window. Because of its loneliness, and grimness, it is called the Silent House.

When finally there is a new tenant in the house. He hardly interacts with anybody and stays confined all the time. On a foggy November night, Lucian Denzil, a briefless barrister, living in Geneva Square, has a strange encounter on the streets with Mark Berwin, the tenant of the Silent House. Berwin is drunk and lost and rambles on about the ghosts of his folly. Denzil helps him find home.

There are rumours of strange happenings in No.13. Nobody visits the home by the front door which looks like the only entrance to the house but two or three shadows are visible on the sitting-room blind. What is happening at the silent house? After a few nights, Denzil witness two shadows, of a man and woman violently arguing in the Silent House and Berwin is not inside the house. Who are these shadows and how did they get in?

Is it a surprise when Berwin is found stabbed to heart in his home the next morning? There is only one entrance to the house and it is locked from inside. How did anybody kill Berwin? Who are the shadows? How did they enter the house? Is it the work of the supernatural?

Berwin has a beautiful daughter and how could Denzil resist temptation. He tries to unravel the mystery. One clue leads to another which leads to another and so and on. It has more a feel of adventure. Suspicion moves from one suspect to another. Denzil establishes a case against one and finds them innocent and moves on to the next. The story is quite complicated. I read two Hume this year. They almost follow a similar pattern. I didn't guess the killer. Couldn't help wondering about the not so thorough work of the police. If it is not for Denzil, who is workless and infatuated with Berwin's daughter, this case would never be solved. An interesting locked room mystery published in 1907 that has a haunted house, a scheming woman, impersonation, romance, drug-addiction and insanity. Available as a free ebook at Gutenberg.

The Piccadilly Puzzle by Fergus Hume

On a foggy night in August, Ellersby is back in London after travelling all over the world. On his way home to his lodgings, Ellersby loses his way, asks police for help and walks up the wrong steps and finds a dead woman on the way. Who is the dead woman? And who killed her?

Detective Dowker investigates the case. With the help of the Hat the dead lady was wearing, he tries to trace her. He gets a name and address from the Hat shop. Address of the home of the mistress of Lord Calliston and victim is his mistress maid. Meanwhile in the London Scene, Lady Balscombe is run away with Lord Calliston. Dowker goes ahead in his mission and faces surprises after surprise. The case takes him from one place to another piling up the surprises.

Like the Baker street Irregulars, we have Flip helping Dowker. Dowker quickly finds his suspect and arrests him, but is not really sure if he is the one. So instead of closing the case, he continues his investigation. There are other complications to follow before the case is finally resolved.

I wouldn't say all Dowker's surprises were surprises for me too. But some were real surprises. I didn't guess who the killer was or how the victim was murdered. I love the way suspicion moves from one person to another like a classic mystery and finally the killer is revealed. Fergus Hume plays a nice little trick. Only complaint is Dowker does not solve the case, it kind of solves itself and this is not a fair play mystery. The Piccadilly Puzzle by Fergus Hume published in 1889 is an interesting and entertaining short read.